Comparison of engines   

This article compares engines, primarily on their efficiency and usability in a given location.

Contents 1 Comparison of the engine types 2 The appropriate use of the different engines 2.1 IC engines 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Comparison of the engine types

Type	Efficiency	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Production cost
Engines using a heated/compressed liquid (ie water)
Steam engine	15%?	?	?	??	?
Fuel cell	?	?	?	??	?	?
Engines using a heated/compressed gas (ie air, ...)
Compressed air engine	26%	?	?	??	?
Stirling engine	upto 40%	?	?	??	?
Engines using a deflagrative liquid/gas (ie gasoline, hydrogen, ...)
Internal combustion engine	20-30%	?	?	??	?
Engines using electricity
Electric engine (Switched reluctance motor)	70%	?	?	??	?

[edit] The appropriate use of the different engines

Allot of inefficient (fuel-burning) engines generally have very little efficiency and lose most energy in the form of heat. Ie internal combustion (IC) engines lose 70% of their energy in the form of heat, which makes them insuitable for tasks such as transport, ... In applications where this generated heat can be reused (ie for space heating), the 70% inefficiency can be recovered. ^[1][2]This means that these engines are most suitable as a combined heat and power system, ie for use in greenhouses, ... The same is true with a multitude of different engines (see above).

[edit] IC engines

Internal combustion engines can be fed using various fuels; ie diesel and petrol but also biofuels and wood gas. Fuels alternative from diesel and petrol reduce the efficieny of the system since energy is lost in the fuel production. For example, with wood gas, we find that we lose 25% efficiency (production is 75% efficient).

Thus, if ie IC-engines were to be used for inappropriate tasks as transport, the system will attain a efficiency of 3/4_X_30%= 22,5%. The production of the other fuels (ie pure plant oil, produced from waste vegetable oil) may be even less efficient. From an ecologic and a appropriate standpoint, these supplemental losses are irrelevant, and the system used for these inappropriate tasks will still be much more ecologic than by using diesel/petrol for the same tasks, simply because plants are allready in the ecosystem where fossil oils are not. However, appropriately seen, we can never justify their use for inappropriate uses as transport, even if it is allready better than their same use using fossil fuels.

[edit] See also

• Comparison of IC engines
• http://www.appropedia.org/File:FFiveHadrian_1.JPG

[edit] References

• Engine efficiency article wikipedia